Top leaders want to turn culture into a 'pillar industry' for the mainland by 2015.
As they see it, the world needs to know about Chinese culture, a development which will help boost the country's attractiveness, and capacity to use 'soft power' to increase its influence on the global stage.
Critics, however, fear the campaign will end up being a 'Great Leap Forward in culture', saying the spending is wastefully extravagant and will not bring the desired result.
The stated economic goals of the 12th five-year plan for 2011-15, approved at the National People's Congress session on March 14, include a massive expansion of the media, publishing, movie, animation, television series and performance sectors for export.
A pillar industry is loosely defined as one that contributes five per cent or more of the mainland's annual gross domestic product, a share which is predicted to be worth at least 2 trillion yuan (HK$2.37 trillion) in 2015. The government plans to invest 171 billion yuan this year in the culture, sports and media sectors, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Culture was not only 'the spirit and soul of the nation', but also a powerful force for the development of the country, according to a document containing suggestions for the five-year plan, approved at the Communist Party congress in October.
Authorities have come to realise the key role culture plays in developing the economy and boosting China's image abroad.